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Yaxley family (Ninclow)
Yaxley is the surname of a wizarding family that have been residing just outside of the picturesque little village of Hogsmeade in the Scottish Highlands ever since the 1666, and easily the wealthiest and most prominent in the country. History Overview Almost every small settlement has someone whose influence seems to know no limit. In the only all-wizarding village in Great Britain, this role have for centuries been occupied by the Yaxleys: While held in high regard in certain circles after they were listed as one of the 'Sacred Twenty Eight' truly pure-blood families in the anonymously published Pure-Blood Directory in the 1930s, they are by no means the oldest of said number of families, with ample evidence to suggest that they originated from Muggles of noble birth whose blood was eventually mixed with that of wizards. A long line of ambiguous characters whose considerable wealth ensured them considerable (and much resented) influence in the little community, which historically has ranged from real estate, to business, to politics and even into the personal lives of the other villagers by underhandedly annexing the property from their neighbours, only for them to rent them out to the original occupants afterwards to add to their wealth. Early history Unlike the notable Armand Malfoy, the French wizard who wormed his way into the confidence of King William I by rendering unknown, shady (and almost certainly magical) services, Hubert, on the other hand, was simply a mild-mannered and curiously unremarkable man whose fortunes were to drastically change when the Duke of Normandy began rounding up all men and children of a serviceable age for the Norman army in preparation for his coup of the throne of England, and very much a Muggle. Upon being crowned the first Norman King of England, William the Conqueror granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons, who in turn would entrust portions of their holdings to relatives and sworn swords who would rule pieces of the lands granted them as under-tenants in the name of their overlords. It was around this time that the nobility adopted the Norman system of surnames, which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. Hence, the surname in which the wizarding family Yaxley takes so much pride in modern times actually descended from the tenant of the lands of Yaxley, which was held by non-magical. And so it was that Hubert became nobility, henceforth know as Hubert of Yaxley or simply ''Lord Yaxley ''when one of the King's companions, and incidentally a distant cousin of Hubert's, awarded him a lands for having displayed great bravery, resilience and valor on the field of battle, where he built a stronghold where he and his descendants would hold a family-seat as Lords of the Manor. As such, the name Yaxley had already been running in the family for quite some time before the family ever produced its first magical offspring. The Yaxleys contended themselves with a solid and comfortable existence in the backwaters of history, and opted to make their fortune through trade and commerce rather than by means of swords and bloodshed. In the days before it was decided that wizardkind were to go into hiding, there were those in the magical community who drew a sharp distinction between poor Muggles and those with wealth and authority,.and whose genuine belief in wizards' superiority over their wandless brethren never truly considered themselves above ingratiating with the non-magical community if it meant they could acquire or add to some wealth and authority of their own. One such magical family, who at which time were still in a position that allowed them to stay quite active within high-born Muggle circles, took notice of the young, handsome Sir Yaxley, who had lounged around the court of King James II ever since he had been knighted, flattering his Majesty and boasting to his peers of his family's holdings. Whether there indeed ever was any truth to the allegations of some pro-Muggle wizards who in recent times has insisted that Cassiopeia Malfoy was part of a shady plot to that would see her husband.to-be meet a sticky end in order for her family to get their hands on his father's lands and fortune, it was never conclusively proven, but true though it might be that Sir Yaxley indeed acquired her hand in marriage, be it by design or by love, their marriage was cut off short after the next Lady of the Manor became pregnant and decided to inform her husband of what she was, and indeed, what their child would be likely to be. Possibly fearing what eloping with a witch might do to his family's reputation and the favor they had with the royal family, he banished her, promising that if she or her spawn were ever to dare to set their foot within his halls again, he would unsheathe his sword against them, as would his household guards. True though it might be that the first Yaxley ever to possess magical ability grew up at the magnificent mansion in Wiltshire that had belonged to the Malfoys for nearly five centuries and be brought up with his cousins, it was made clear from an early age that he was not one of them. Although he was treated with the same kindness and, like them, prudently educated by his uncle to believe in the value of the old boys’ network and how to safely maneuver through the cut and thrust of politics, Cadmus Yaxley found it thoroughly unpleasant whenever the adults spoke to the Malfoy children of the family’s innate superiority, leaving the lone Yaxley to feel somewhat abandoned. Cassiopeia, on the other hand, never spoke of the affair with the Muggle knight at all, but would dismiss any questions about the nobleman with whom she was once married and assure her son that he was a wizard born among common, wandless men, and whose legacy would outshine his ancestors, whatever their achievements. In childhood, he would associate mainly with the pure-blood children of other notable pure-blood families, and when he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, shared dormitory with some of them in Slytherin House. Building their own reputation The establishment of Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the later part of the 15th century and its consequences for the wizarding community to present day would for centuries come to be considered a turning point in magical history to match the introduction of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy a little more than two centuries later, seen as it contributed to maintain the balance of the British wizarding economy and disallowed individual wizards, witches or groups to manipulate national financial matters for personal gain. There is some debate among magical historians as to whether it acquired its well-deserved reputation as arguably the most powerful financial institution known to wizardkind while it was under the management of its legendary founder of if did not earn its renown after Cadmus's son, the renowned Chancellor Yaxley, became the first wizard to be entrusted the task of overseeing the affairs of the bank on the behalf of the Wizards' Council. A master of delegation and evidently a highly gifted and talented man where currency and assets were concerned, running the bank was a job which Mr. Yaxley reportedly did so well that subsequent generations often found themselves in senior positions in its management afterwards. As a result, the Yaxley family was quickly able to obtained a handsome townhouse in London by "persuading" the original Muggle occupants to leave, and then proceeded put the appropriate spells on it. Early 1500s to 1666 Thanks to Chancellor's efforts, the name of Yaxley were soon recognised as belonging to an up-and-coming wizarding family. Very rich and very influential in their own right, even if they were in no way equals to the likes of the Malfoys in terms of resources. Throughout the sixteenth century, the witch-hunts grew ever fiercer, however, and the marked increase in the number of wizarding families who began finding themselves living double lives in order to avoid drawing attention to themselves and relying on charms of protection to prevent detection by persecuting Muggles swiftly prompted the Yaxleys to do the same. Although they had never been particularly militant in their pure-blood beliefs, under these circumstances, they swiftly became so, and henceforth associated themselves exclusively with other old wizarding family of pure blood. When the Great Fire of London of 1666 burned their home to the ground, however, the patriarch of the day purchased a small cottage in Hogsmeade for them to live in. Some older, wealthier and more respectable pure-blood families sniffed: As per their own standards, the tiny, rather modest hamlet as the one founded by Hengist of Woodcroft were hardly were befitting for a family of their wealth and stature. Crispinus, on the other hand, maintained that while they lived their life at the lap of luxury in their handsome mansions and their manor houses, they were counted as one of the magical families which had been forced to live double lives and use charms of concealment to protect themselves to avoid prosecution from witch hunting Muggles for the better part of the century, making Hogsmeade by contrast a place of joyful release and freedom, however lacking it were in lavishness or extravagance. While they might have failed to see how the Yaxleys could possibly be content living near the small, sparsely populated village in which any anti-Muggle sentiment felt by its inhabitants would almost certainly be less pronounced than their own, and some even ridiculed him for it to begin with, they appeared appeased by his efforts to stay an active part of the pure-blood doctrine: Not only did he use his influence in Gringotts Wizarding Bank to provide the historically well known with sponsorship, (of which the goblins later was less than thrilled) and once and all made clear the political alignment of his family by spending no less than twenty years as a member of the Wizengamot in a long-winded but ultimately unfruitful campaign aimed at declaring war on the Muggles for their heinous crimes against wizardkind, but ultimately resigned in protest when the majority of his peers opted to vote for secrecy and returned to banking. Losing Gringotts For witches and wizards who are Floo-sick, whose Apparition is unreliable, who hate heights or who feel frightened or queasy taking Portkeys, there is always the Knight Bus, which appears whenever a witch or wizard in urgent need of transportation sticks out their wand arm at the kerb. The only time a Yaxley has ever gone out of his way to try and influence the Ministry of Magic, an arena which the family traditionally have left for the Malfoys, was when Astor Yaxley, who was greatly envious of the latter's social standing, foolishly resolved to beat them at their own game: Well aware of of how he need for some form of transportation that could be used safely and discreetly by the underage or the infirm had been felt for a while and many suggestions had been made (sidecars on taxi-style broomsticks, carrying baskets slung under Thestrals) all of them vetoed by the Ministry, Mr. Yaxley approached the Minister with a small fortune and offered to fund whatever expenses their solution required. Upon learning about his idea of imitating the Muggles’ relatively new ‘bus service’, rather than taking his gold and leaving then and there, Mr. Yaxley instead feigned enthusiasm and even insisted on being one of its first passenger, a trip that reportedly caused him sufficient injury to merit admittance into St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. It is often said that if Astor Yaxley had any objections to the Ministry of Magic's decision to hand Gringotts back to goblin hands a few days later, he was in no condition to do so. Recent history Although their decision to to put full control of Gringotts Wizarding Bank back in goblin hands put significant restrictions on the influence the Yaxley family, it did not exclude them completely from the treasure-and-curse business, in which they have retained their presence in spite of Ministry's decree by merit of their representation in the Consortium of Goblinary Finance & Red-Nosed Wizard Investors, allowing him to hold shares in a wizarding financial services company called GalloLoans as well as a travel agency specialised in adventure tourism called TerrorTours, both of which are based in Diagon Alley. While they no longer have the full resources of the bank at their disposal, the Yaxley family remains by far the wealthiest inhabitants of the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade, and when the Consortium are not assembled, however, the Yaxleys have primarily focused on exerting their influence there by underhandedly annexing the property from their neighbours, only to rent them out for the original owners for a reasonable rent. As such, the Yaxley family owns the buildings housing the wizarding wireless station, the a greengrocer's, the specialist bookshop and the local post office of the village, all from which the Yaxley family collects a monthly rent in order for them to go about their business as usual. They also are shareholders in Hogwarts Railways, meaning the Yaxley family has a voice in the Hogwarts Express Railway Authorities and a say in the management of Hogsmeade station. Known members Category:Ninclow